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Friday Line: Two Hot Governors Races in 2007

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Even though we're spending most of our time tailing various Republican candidates for president this week, it wouldn't be a Friday without the Line.

This week we tackle the gubernatorial playing field. The 2007 races -- two of which occupy our top spots on the Line -- are already intense and will heat up even more once Labor Day passes. Remember we're just 72 days away from the open primary in Louisiana and 89 days from the Kentucky general election.

We can barely wait. In the meantime, check out the Line to tide you over. As always the number one ranked race is the most likely to switch parties. Compliments, criticisms, and analysis are welcome in the comments section below.

To the Line!

5. Washington: Having accepted that former state senator and 2004 gubernatorial nominee Dino Rossi is going to be the Republican candidate in 2008, Democrats in the state are working hard to discredit him. The state Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the state's Public Disclosure Commission alleging that Rossi's Forward Washington group is functioning as a campaign committee. Rossi himself seems content to stay on the sidelines until the fall. And, if a recent Moore Information (R) poll is right, Rossi needn't be in any hurry. The survey showed incumbent Chris Gregoire leading Rossi 47 percent to 43 percent, a margin nearly unchanged from a February Moore Information poll that showed Gregoire with a 46 percent to 43 percent lead. Whenever Rossi decides to formally enter the race (and make no mistake, he's running), he will start in a deep financial hole. He also faces a significant national headwind in a state likely to go for whoever the Democrats nominate for president. Still, the narrowness of his 2004 loss means this is a race to watch. (Previous ranking: 5)

4. Indiana: Everything we've heard from state and national Democrats over the past few months indicated that Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger was the heavy favorite for the party's nomination. Then former Rep. Jill Long Thompson (D) released a survey conducted by respected pollster Pete Brodnitz that showed the former Congresswoman in the lead with 33 percent followed by state Sen. Richard Young at 12 percent and Schellinger at eight percent. On one level, the results are understandable. Thompson has represented Indiana in Congress and appeared on the ballot as recently as 2002 when she lost to then Rep. Chris Chocola (R). Schellinger has never run before and, as a result, almost no one in the state knows who he is. Schellinger should have the fundraising prowess to make sure voters know his name and positions -- he raised $1.2 million in the second quarter of the year -- but Thompson's poll shows that she remains a serious candidate. As the Democrats prepare for a bloody primary, Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) continues to stockpile cash. Still, Daniels' job approval numbers aren't all that great and Indiana went strongly for Democrats in the 2006 election. (Previous ranking: 4)

3. Missouri: A decision issued by the Missouri Supreme Court reinstating campaign contribution limits could have a HUGE impact on the already-competitive contest between Gov. Matt Blunt (R) and state Attorney General Jay Nixon (D). At issue now is whether the candidates must return past contributions in excess of the new limits. If the Court rules that refunds must be made, Blunt stands to lose nearly $4 million while Nixon will give up $1.1 million. That would essentially zero out Blunt's financial advantage, which, to date, had been one of Republicans' strongest selling points for his re-election bid. Republicans argue that the political environment in state continues to improve for Blunt and that he enjoyed a successful legislative session. This one will likely go down to the wire. (Previous ranking: 3)

2. Louisiana: The Bayou State race remains in the second slot for the second straight month as state Sen. Walter Boasso (D) continues to show a willingness to put his money where his mouth is. Boasso, who has already dumped a hefty sum into his television ads, recently sold his company for $60 million -- freeing up scads of money for him to spend on the race. A poll done for Boasso's campaign shows Rep. Bobby Jindal (R) still over the magical 50 percent mark needed to avoid a Nov. 17 runoff -- but with the Democrat gaining. The key for Boasso is to peel off enough support from Jindal to keep the Republican under 50 percent on Oct. 20 and hope he can coalesce Democrats and Indepedents around his runoff candidacy a la Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) in 2003. Republicans say that Jindal's numbers remain strong and that his image as a reformer seeking to bring change to a corrupt system continues to resonate. (Previous ranking: 2)

1. Kentucky: We don't think former Lt. Gov Steve Beshear (D) is leading Gov. Ernie Fletcher by 21 points, as a recent Survey USA poll showed the race. But it seems clear that the challenger is ahead of the incumbent at the moment. During his primary challenge from former Rep. Anne Northup (R) Fletcher seemed to find his political stride and has been receiving rave reviews for his performance on the trail. When the general election begins in earnest, however, Beshear will make sure voters know about the ethical problems that dominated the first four years of Fletcher's gubernatorial tenure. Fletcher weathered those attacks in the primary but that was when reliably Republican voters were the target audience. Now Fletcher needs to find a way to convince independents and even some Democrats that he can still be effective. (Previous ranking: 1)

Mark & J -- All nine are better lawyers than I am, at least at this point in my career, so I'm really not trying to bash any particular judicial philosophy. :) As I stated from the start, I respect the legal arguments against Roe and Casey and am not - as a general rule - a single issue voter. What irks me about Rudy is that he argues he's pro-choice while, with a wink, promising Judges just like two (Scalia and Thomas) who have signed on to repealing Roe.

Now, if his answer was that he's pro-choice from a public policy sandpoint, but anti-Roe from a legal perspective, that would be intellecutally honest. But he doesn't say that. And that, among other reasons, is why I don't give Rudy ANY credit for "standing by" his purportedly more "moderate" social views. It also doesn't help that, whatever his views on substantive due process, he clearly doesn't value most civil liberties. Honestly, I think he'd be GWB on crack if elected.

I'm curious which one isn't a better lawyer (purely curiosity on my part, as I am not a lawyer).

I have always been pro-choice, but still I have to agree (along with many pro-choice lawyers) that the Roe v. Wade decision was not especially good law. I agree with the conclusion, but that can't change the fact that the rationale was not (as you say) airtight.

Three separate polling groups (SUSA 5/23-24 and 7/14-16), InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion (07/8-9) and Rasmussen Reports (5/24-25) all show Fletcher under 40% in head to head match ups.
The race may tighten as most races do in the end but baring a major mistake by Beshear, Fletcher is going to lose.

Colin, in my professional view, eight of the Justices continue to be better lawyers than I am.

In my view, the stronger footing of Roe is the definition of persons who are protected by the 14th A. Thus, it is easy for me to argue that no state can, by prohibiting abortion, place a woman's life in jeopardy.

While I believe a Legislature SHOULD provide more protection to the woman than merely being prohibited from causing her life to be endangered, I think the rest of the Constitutional argument, based as it is on medical ethics, is a stretch.

All the non-lawyers here may pile on, but I am not talking about public policy here, upon which rational persons can differ. I am talking about making an airtight case to limit the power of a state to legislate in this area as the state would see fit, based on the rights of persons born or naturalized in the United States under the Federal Constitution.

"Kensinger's attorney in Tillman case lashes out at Army
By Mike Fish
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: August 10, 2007, 4:53 PM ET
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The attorney for a retired three-star general censured last week for misconduct in the 2004 "friendly fire" death of former NFL player Pat Tillman has lashed out at top Army officials. Charles Gittins, Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger's attorney, described his client as the "fall guy" of the investigation.

Gittins told ESPN.com that Kensinger has neither received a copy of the censure nor spoken about it with the Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren. Kensinger, 58, was censured by Geren after senior Army officers determined earlier this year that Kensinger lied to investigators about when he learned that Tillman's death was a suspected friendly fire case. Investigators determined that Kensinger had been alerted of those suspicions days before he attended a nationally televised memorial service for Tillman on May 3, 2004. At that time, the Tillman family and the public still believed the Army's initial report that he had been killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan 11 days earlier, on April 22.

Kensinger was unavailable for comment, but Gittins said he is baffled by the Army's handling of the censure and Geren's testimony at a congressional hearing last week.

"I explain it as extremely poor leadership," Gittins said. "Unconscionably poor leadership, in fact. For my client to find out on the news that he has been censured by the Secretary of the Army is disgracefully cowardly. ... I assume the Secretary of the Army wasn't lying on national television, but my client hasn't seen anything about it."

Department of the Army spokesperson Paul Boyce said the correspondence regarding the censure had been sent to Kensinger, but added, "Rest assured, if Mr. Gittins' client has not received the first letter, we'll get out another copy to him and the general most quickly."

Boyce provided a number of related documents to ESPN.com, including a memorandum signed by Kensinger acknowledging receipt of an April 25, 2007, administrative reprimand issued to him by Gen. William Wallace, who had been assigned by the Secretary of the Army to review the Department of Defense Inspector General's findings in the Tillman incident. Kensinger filed a rebuttal to the reprimand, but the Secretary of the Army formally censured Kensinger on July 30 on the same grounds.

"They are not true," Gittins said of the allegations that Kensinger had lied to the Tillmans. "Most of the sane people in the Department of Defense know they are not true, but somebody has to be the guy who gets left holding the smelly bag. And it is my client."

According to Army documents, Kensinger repeatedly contradicted other officers' testimony, and sometimes his own, during the Army's investigation. In one instance, Brig. Gen. Howard Yellen, deputy commanding general to Kensinger, testified that he told Kensinger friendly fire was suspected in Tillman's death on April 24, 2004 -- two days after the shooting.

A congressional committee, spurred by concerns from the Tillman family about the Army's handling of the death, has been conducting hearings in an effort to determine when senior defense leaders knew of Tillman's death and whether facts were purposely concealed for five or more weeks. The responsibility for the time lapse between the April 22 firefight and the public revelation in late May that friendly fire was involved, the Tillmans believe, goes well beyond Kensinger.

"I don't think Kensinger is the definitive bad guy," said Mary Tillman, Pat's mother. "I absolutely don't. I think he is the scapegoat. I actually told Secretary of the Army Pete Geren the same thing. I said that I did not believe that Kensinger was the ultimate culprit here. That there are a lot of people who played a role in this and they are getting off without any punishment."

Among the culpable Army officers, according to Mary Tillman, are Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Gen. John Abizaid, now retired.

One of the issues is the existence of an April 29, 2004, high-priority "P4" [Personal For] e-mail sent by McChrystal that suggested President Bush and Secretary of the Army be notified of the possibility of friendly fire in Tillman's death to prevent any embarrassing public statements. In the same memo, McChrystal spoke of the approval for an award of the Silver Star to Tillman, which typically has not been awarded to soldiers accidentally shot by their own men.

Kensinger was copied on that e-mail, which was sent days before the public memorial he attended for Tillman in San Jose, Calif. Kensinger, however, claims he did not become aware of the e-mail until he returned from the memorial.

The Tillman family wasn't told about the fratricide until May 28, 2004.

"My client's recollection is he didn't see [the memo] until after the service," Gittins said. "There is another officer on his staff who says he did see it before the service. But what the officer says he did with it is inconsistent with what my client then recalled and another officer reports happened. So it is just the timing of the thing. My client's recollection is he didn't know about the P4 until after the service. That is the lie that they said my client told. This is an important point.

"My client wouldn't have told the Tillmans, anyway. Even if he had read that message, he wasn't going to report information that was not confirmed and approved by the combatant commander."

Gittins suggested the responsibility for informing the Tillman family belonged to Abizaid, then head of the U.S. Central Command overseeing the Middle East and Central Asia. Abizaid was the primary recipient of the e-mail from McChrystal. During a congressional hearing last week, Abizaid testified that he didn't receive the e-mail until at least May 6 -- and said he never notified President Bush about it -- because of an unexplained mix-up at headquarters.

"His communications officer would have received it," Gittins said of Abizaid. "And it would be a P4 from another general officer, which would be the kind of thing he would probably get a phone call about. ... I think it is inconceivable that [Abizaid], as the combatant commander who ordered the investigation [into Tillman's death], would not have found out about that.

"My client was not the combatant commander. It was not his investigation. And he was not the person who would approve the investigation nor report the investigation's results to the family."

ESPN.com's attempts to reach Abizaid and McChrystal proved unsuccessful. Abizaid, however, denied any wrongdoing during his appearance before the congressional hearing last week, saying "I don't think there was a cover-up. I think people tried to do the right thing, and the right thing didn't happen."

Kensinger, commanding general of the U.S. Special Operations Command until his retirement in February 2006, has refused twice to appear voluntarily at hearings into the Tillman issue conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Last week, Kensinger was a no-show after lawmakers said he couldn't be found to be served a subpoena to appear.

Gittins said Kensinger would not be available for public comment because he has nothing to gain. But the attorney said he has advised House committee leadership that Kensinger will appear voluntarily if he is granted testimonial immunity, a request that so far has not been granted.

"What they wanted was a public flogging of my client on TV," Gittins suggested. "No congressional hearing is going to resolve anything. They are just a bunch of blowhards that want to hear themselves talk. So I reject the idea that if he would have shown up for a hearing that anything would have been resolved. If it was going to be a fact-finding hearing with some competent fact-finder, not the members of Congress, I'm sure we would probably get to the bottom of it."

According to Gittins, Kensinger was in his North Carolina office at the time U.S. marshals sought to serve the subpoena. But Gittins said they didn't show up there.

Committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman [D-Calif.] disputes that, saying "U.S. Marshals repeatedly tried to serve the subpoena on Gen. Kensinger, and I regret that he was able to evade service. The committee remains interested in questioning him about this matter."

A committeeman representative said additional hearings on the Tillman incident are likely when Congress returns from recess after Labor Day. "

Posted by: You can hide some places from this. But you can't hide here | August 10, 2007 05:27 PM

"On April 29, 2004, then-Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commanding general of Joint Special Operations Command, sent a "Personal For" [P4] message to three Army commanders: Gen. John Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command; Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown, then head of the U.S. Special Operations Command; and Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger, then head of the Army Special Operations Command. The message read:

"Sir, in the aftermath of Corporal Patrick Tillman's untimely yet heroic death in Afghanistan on 22 April 04, it is anticipated that a 15-6 investigation nearing completion will find that it is highly possible that Corporal Tillman was killed by friendly fire. This potential finding is exacerbated by the unconfirmed but suspected reports that POTUS [President of the United States] and the Secretary of the Army might include comments about Corporal Tillman's heroism and his approved Silver Star medal in speeches currently being prepared, not knowing the specifics surrounding his death. The potential that he might have been killed by friendly fire in no way detracts from his witnessed heroism or the recommended personal decoration for valor in the face of the enemy. Corporal Tillman was killed in a complicated battlespace geometry involving two separate Ranger vehicle serials traversing through severe terrain along a winding 500-600 foot defile in which friendly forces were fired upon by multiple enemy positions. Corporal Tillman disembarked from his vehicle, and in support of his fellow Rangers and demonstrating great concern for their welfare over care for his own safety entered the enemy kill-zone into which both enemy and friendly fire impacted. I felt that it was essential that you received this information as soon as we detected it in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Corporal Tillman's death become public."

This is the reaction to the memo from Mary Tillman, Pat Tillman's mother:

"That memo is damming as hell. And yet, nothing happens to [McChrystal]. He is writing fraudulent language in that memo. He is giving examples of how they can script the Silver Star award, even though Pat was killed by fratricide. And he is saying we need to keep our leadership abreast of things so they don't embarrass themselves, if the circumstances of Pat's death should become public ... He should be saying 'We're going to have to put a hold to the silver star and we're going to have to notify the family [of suspected friendly fire].' That is what he would say if he was innocent, but he is not. He is trying to find a way that they can continue this false, elaborate story of theirs. And the fact that he is off the hook is atrocious."

Summary: Far-right Christian author and American Vision president Gary DeMar was the guest on the February 2 edition of American Family Radio's Today's Issues. In the past, DeMar has advocated the installation of a theocratic government in the United States in which homosexuals, adulterers, and abortion doctors would be executed.

Far-right Christian author and American Vision president Gary DeMar was the guest on the February 2 broadcast of Today's Issues, a program of American Family Radio, a network of nearly 200 radio stations owned by the conservative American Family Association (AFA). DeMar denounced "the continual assault on all things religion and, in particular, Christian," and AFA president Tim Wildmon praised him as "one of the best writers out there in the Christian community and thinkers." In the past, DeMar has advocated the installation of a theocratic government in the United States in which homosexuals, adulterers, and abortion doctors would be executed.

Colin:
Actually, I think I said he "didn't run away from them," but I get your point. That is a rather interesting picture, isn't it?

I consider Thomas to be rather dangerous because of his utter contempt for precedent (and often, it seems, for the law itself).

Scalia, I'm of two minds about. I consider him to be a very able lawyer. He does *tend* to respect precedent, and has even ripped Thomas for not doing so. But his "strict construction" bent seems to favor some aspects of "strict" over others. I suspect this comes from the fact that he tries to fit everything into an overall legal construct of his own making, much like Breyer tends to do from the left.

I have no problems with strict construction in general. I do think it should be consistent. And in general I prefer Justices who look at:
What are the facts of the case?
What does the law in question say?
What does the Constitution say?
What does precedent say?

Too often we have, from both ends of the spectrum, these questions:
What outcome do I want?
How do I make the other four questions fit?

Enough of my legal soapbox...

In answer to your initial question, I am wary of those sorts of cynical actions on the part of all politicians. I at least try (though not always succeed) to take them into account as I weigh the candidates as people.

What a person is (based on observation, not claims) is more important to me than the candidate's stated positions on various policies. I'm never going to agree with them on everything. But for a LEADER I'm okay with that.

Of course, most of the time we don't have anybody that could lead his/her way out of a wet paper bag. Too often one has to hold one's nose and go for the lesser of two evils.

J -- Curious how you feel about Rudy pretending to "stand by" his social views, even while he promises to appoint Judges like Thomas and Scalia to the Bench, who are adamant about overturning Roe v. Wade. I respect the argument against Roe, although I don't agree with it, but I think it is extremely cynical for Rudy to pretend to support abortion rights while making promises to social conservatives about Judges.

Judge and proud:
Yes, I'm a political "junkie" but I'm currently rather disgusted by the state of the whole process.

I'm still very much undecided right now. Among the Dems, I've been looking mostly at Obama and Richardson, and haven't given up on Edwards yet. I wouldn't vote for Clinton in a million years. I'll get to the GOP in a minute.

I don't hold Richardson's faux pas last night too much against him. He was very clear from the word go of his support for equal rights. By the way, for me "rights" equates more to non-discrimination than the whole marriage issue. I don't think people should be fired for who they are.

The marriage issue, certainly on the Dem side, is a matter of semantics. Obama was right in this sense. We're not electing a pastor or a bishop here. In church, marriage has meaning as a sacrament. As far as the state is concerned, it is a legal contract. As I see it, though the devil is in the details, that makes marriage and civil union the same from a government perspective.

Now, to the GOP. I agree with Proud that the religious conservatives are probably not the majority. But it seems to me that they have gained too much control of both the nominating process and the policy one. But they weren't the ones that drove me completely out of the party. That would be the neocon wing, which doesn't seem to have met a Constitutional protection that didn't need to be shredded.

As for Giuliani, I've been pleased that he hasn't run away from his views on social policy like some candidates we could mention. But I'm a bit concerned with his seemingly autocratic tendencies. And I'm downright disgusted with his embrace (along with most GOP candidates) of torture. That's just not the way we were taught to do things in MIOBC. I think McCain is a good man, but I disagree with him on quite a bit. And I have a soft spot for Ron Paul because I have a rather strong Libertarian streak myself.

So in my opinion all of the candidates have enough weaknesses to be disqualifying. I'm watching them to see who might have enough strengths to make up for it. Otherwise, I may end up voting for the (L), which I've done before, unless this time he/she strikes me as too much of a nut case.

My, my. I don't even have to enter this blog anymore to have someone post for me. And attack me all day. Some of you Loony Libs need to seriously get a life. Quoting Hitler over and over - what kind of deranged mind does this? Is this blog somehow linked to a bush derangement syndrome website? I have pretty much run out of energy for confronting amyone so completely out of touch with reality. But for the rest of you with functioning cerebellum --

The point about daily Kos is that the Dem candidates showed up to pander to these moonbats. Meanwhile they totally ignored the DLC, which actually was the only organization in Dem circles to actually succeed in electing a Dem. This suicidal urge on the part of the Libs includes our entire nation - they think that coddling our enemies and attacking our freinds makes sense. They think that raising taxes will not harm the economy. They think government will run health care properly. They think education is just fine and SS is doing well.

how completely out of it must you be to believe these things? You must be so out of it that strings of broken campaign promises are quickly forgotten. That the most corrupt admin in history is up for another go. That a feckless foreign policy that allowed terrorism to grow and thrive is considered better then confronting them.

When the Dems lose another election, they will go all in and think that they weren't liberal enough. They never learn. Lieberman went from VP to ousted in four years. How does this make sense in a sensible universe. Welcome to Lib land, where you can think and do anything with no consequences.

All you nuts will be obliged to attack me personally or ignore me, but no matter what you will not be answering the issues. How could you?

"This teaching should not be taken to be an intellectual exercise. It involves fixing the attention firmly and intensely on the feeling of 'I', without thinking, it is perhaps more helpful to see it as 'Self-attention' or 'Self-abiding' (cf. Sri Sadhu Om - The Path of Sri Ramana Part I). The clue to this is in Sri Ramana's own death experience when he was sixteen. After raising the question 'Who am I?' he "turned his attention very keenly towards himself" (cf. description above). Attention must be fixed on the 'I' until the feeling of duality disappears.

Although his primary teaching was self-enquiry, he was also known to have advised the use of self surrender (to one's Deity or Guru) as an alternative means, which would ultimately converge in to the path of self-enquiry[26]."

That's what I've been trying to tell these dittoheads. If you have to think about it, you are no longer "you". What "you" feel or think should come naturally. I should roll off your tounge. Without the "what if's". Without worrying what other may or may not think. You can only do you. People trying to group and herd you do it for their own personal selfish reasons. The people you should listen to and trust are the paeople you have nothing to gain by telling you something. Rush? O'Reilly? Rufus?

Again, we are all free from birth. The only power your avatars have on you is the power you give them. I'm giving them the "you" that real "you" is gone forever.

"This teaching should not be taken to be an intellectual exercise. It involves fixing the attention firmly and intensely on the feeling of 'I', without thinking, it is perhaps more helpful to see it as 'Self-attention' or 'Self-abiding' (cf. Sri Sadhu Om - The Path of Sri Ramana Part I). The clue to this is in Sri Ramana's own death experience when he was sixteen. After raising the question 'Who am I?' he "turned his attention very keenly towards himself" (cf. description above). Attention must be fixed on the 'I' until the feeling of duality disappears.

Although his primary teaching was self-enquiry, he was also known to have advised the use of self surrender (to one's Deity or Guru) as an alternative means, which would ultimately converge in to the path of self-enquiry[26]."

That's what I've been trying to tell these dittoheads. If you have to think about it, you are no longer "you". What "you" feel or think should come naturally. I should roll off your tounge. Without the "what if's". Without worrying what other may or may not think. You can only do you. People trying to group and herd you do it for their own personal selfish reasons. The people you should listen to and trust are the paeople you have nothing to gain by telling you something. Rush? O'Reilly? Rufus?

Again, we are all free from birth. The only power your avatars have on you is the power you give them. I'm giving them the "you" that "you" is gone forever.

"Since all the living beings desire to be happy always, without any misery..., it is necessary to know oneself. For that, enquiry in the form 'Who am I' alone is the principal means.
Knowledge itself is 'I'. The nature of (this) knowledge is existence-consciousness-bliss
What is called mind is a wondrous power existing in Self. It projects all thoughts. If we set aside all thoughts and see, there will be no such thing as mind remaining separate; therefore, thought itself is the form of the mind. Other than thoughts, there is no such thing as the world.
Of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought 'I' is the first thought.
That which rises in this body as 'I' is the mind. If one enquires 'In which place in the body does the thought 'I' rise first?', it will be known to be in the heart [spiritual heart is 'two digits to the right from the centre of the chest']. Even if one incessantly thinks 'I', 'I', it will lead to that place (Self)'
The mind will subside only by means of the enquiry 'Who am I?'. The thought 'Who am I?', destroying all other thoughts, will itself finally be destroyed like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre.
If other thoughts rise, one should, without attempting to complete them, enquire, 'To whom did they arise?', it will be known 'To me'. If one then enquires 'Who am I?', the mind (power of attention) will turn back to its source. By repeatedly practising thus, the power of the mind to abide in its source increases.
The place where even the slightest trace of the 'I' does not exist, alone is Self.
Self itself is the world; Self itself is 'I'; Self itself is God; all is the Supreme Self (siva swarupam) "

the party of working people - I agree! If we elect corporate conmtrolled insiders like Hillary Clinton or Romney, then the current economic mess will turn into a tidal wave that will swamp us. We either climb off the globalization bandwagon or we ride over the cliff into oblivion.

Hey this guy sounds like me. Try to "save" you gop'ers. For free. What do we have to gain by coming here everyday? What do you have to gain Gop'er? Control? Money? Your political ideolody become mandated to every man woman and child? What happened to AMerican THe land of the free? Are only GOp'ers free now. Any and everybody else must conform or die (literally or econmically)?

"Sri Ramana did not publicize himself as being a guru, he never appointed any successors, and he never claimed to have any disciples, either. While a few who came to see him are said to have become enlightened through association with him, he did not publicly acknowledge any living person as liberated other than his mother at death. Sri Ramana declared himself an atiasrama [29](beyond all caste and religious restrictions, not attached to anything in life), and did not belong to any lineage, nor did he ever indicate that he wanted to create to a lineage. He considered his own guru to be the Self, in the form of the sacred mountain Arunachala.

His method of teaching was characterized by the following:

He consistently urged people who came to him to practice self-enquiry;
He directed people to look inward rather than seeking outside themselves for Realization. ("The true Bhagavan resides in your Heart as your true Self. This is who I truly am," he said.)
He viewed all who came to him as the Self rather than as lesser beings. ("The jnani sees no one as an ajnani. All are only jnanis in his sight," Sri Ramana said.)
He charged no money, and was adamant that no one ever ask for money (or anything else) in his name;
He never promoted or called attention to himself. Instead, Sri Ramana remained in one place for 55 years, offering spiritual guidance to anyone of any background who came to him, and asking nothing in return;
He considered humility to be the highest quality.
He said the deep sense of peace one felt around a jnani was the surest indicator of their spiritual state, that equality towards all was a true sign of liberation, and that what a true jnani did was always for others, not for themselves.
Despite the above and the statement of the Ashram's official magazine that there is no lineage[30], there are many contemporary gurus/teachers who publicly associate themselves with Sri Ramana, some who claim a kind of lineage with Ramana [31]."

proudtobeGOP writes
"I, for one, do not see fit to lump gays, lesbians, bisexuals and people who had a sex-change operation into the same civil rights basket as blacks or women. Is this the dreaded "intolerance" on my part? Liberals would have you think so."

I don't know if its the 'dreaded "intolerance"' or not. My perception of why GLBT people should be included as members of a 'protected group' is because GLBT people are sometimes singled out, beaten and killed solely for their membership in that group. Our government saw fit to protect members of certain groups because they were singled out & discriminated - to put it mildly - for their membership in those groups. Until the rest of us stop singling out people based on their demographic category memberships, perhaps the people that suffer for those memberships should be protected. Though I must say, the GLBT people I know would certainly prefer that it weren't necessary in the first place.

J - One of our leading R candidates is a champion of equality for the gay community and is honest about working for wide-ranging domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. I believe that Guiliani's record is without parallel when it comes to getting something done in a practical, realistic way to make a difference in people's lives and let them just live in peace, as you say.

The social conservatives do not represent the majority of the R party.

So, J, who are you supporting in the upcoming election? Sounds like the well-regarded None Of The Above is your hands-down favorite candidate. However, since you are bothering to read this blog you likely have a preference for an actual person.

" I was sitting alone in a room on the first floor of my uncle's house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden violent fear of death overtook me. There was nothing in my state of health to account for it nor was there any urge in me to find out whether there was any account for the fear. I just felt I was going to die and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a doctor or any elders or friends. I felt I had to solve the problem myself then and there. The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: "Now death has come; what does it mean? What is that is dying? This body dies."

Posted by: Fear is the same as death. The fearful are already dead | August 10, 2007 2:46 PM | Report abuse

"In 1892, Venkataraman's father Sundaram Iyer fell seriously ill and died several days later. For some hours after his father's death, Venkataraman contemplated the matter of how his father's body was still there, but the 'I' was gone from it."

Who are you proud. A gop'er? A fascist, a racist, a bigot? A good man/woman? A chrsitian?

You are what labels YOU PUT ON YOURSELF. You all (gop'ers) can break the hold your avatars have on you. It COULD happen in 2 seconds if you let it. The only power o'reilly rush and fox have on you, is the power you give them through your actions. Removing them from politics would set you free from them. Help me remove Fox and Rush from the air for good. What ever comes out of that is God's will.

'It goes farther than that when the LGBT spokesperson says "No longer is having a corporate nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation enough."

are you proud to be a ditthoead? reading from the playbook of the extremist far right, using the lines of hannity, limbaugh, et al? and a racist to boot? using your favorite [black] punching bags sharpton and jackson?

'The gay commmunity has read from the playbook of the likes of Sharpton & Jackson, and the RainbowPush Coalition et al with these tactics. I guess it serves Walmart right, since they are no stranger to this coercive business model.

However, I, for one, do not see fit to lump gays, lesbians, bisexuals and people who had a sex-change operation into the same civil rights basket as blacks or women. Is this the dreaded "intolerance" on my part?'

The scientific community has at this time reached a consensus that people are prtty much born with a certain sexual orientation-- there are even physical characteristics. So if this is not a choice, how is it not intolerant of you to want to treat them differently?

But frankly, all you extreme rightwingers hate just about everbyody who isn't white and straight and well off, so why should you be any different?

Go back and listen to more hate from your favorite purveyors.

WalMart will do whatever is profitable. Don't worry your pretty little head, they can take care of themselves.

"Eckhart Tolle is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of 29 after suffering long periods of depression, dissolving his old identity and radically changing the course of his life. Tolle's non-fiction bestseller, The Power of Now, emphasizes the importance of being aware of the present moment as a way of not being lost in thought. In Tolle's view, the present is the gateway to a heightened sense of peace and aliveness. "Being in the now" also brings about an awareness that is beyond the mind. This awareness helps in transcending "the pain-body" that is created by the identification of the mind and ego with the body. His later book, A New Earth further explores the structure of the human ego and how this acts to distract people from their present experience of the world. His other works include Stillness Speaks, a book that modernises the ancient sutra form.

The aim of Tolle's teachings is the transformation of individual and collective human consciousness--a global spiritual awakening.

Core teachings that appear to arise from his works are:

1. You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness behind the thoughts. Thoughts are often negative and painful, yearning for or fearing something in the future, complaining about something in the present or fearing a matter from the past. However, the thoughts are not you; they are a construct of the ego. Awareness of your thoughts without being caught up in them is the first step to freedom.

2. Only the present moment exists. That is where life is (indeed it is the only place life can truly be found). Becoming aware of the 'now' has the added benefit that it will draw your attention away from your (negative) thoughts. Use mindfulness techniques to fully appreciate your surroundings and everything you are experiencing. Look and listen intently. Give full attention to the smallest details.

3. Accept the present moment. It is resistance to the present moment that creates most of the difficulties in your life. However, acceptance does not mean that you cannot take action to rectify the situation you are in. What is important is to drop resistance so that you let the moment be, and that any action arises from deeper awareness rather than from resistance. The vast majority of pain in a person's life comes from resistance to what is.

4. Observe the pain-body. Years of conditioned thought patterns, individually and collectively, have resulted in habitual emotional reactions with an apparent personality of their own. During 'pain-body attacks' we become completely identified with this 'pain identity' and respond from its agenda--which is to create more pain for ourselves and others. Observing the pain-body is awareness itself arising--as it allows humans to separate from this unconscious identification with pain.

Eckhart Tolle is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition.

Influences which are alluded to in The Power of Now are the writings of Meister Eckhart, Advaita Vedanta, A Course in Miracles and Zen Buddhism's Lin-chi (Rinzai) school. The book also interprets sayings of Jesus from the Bible.

Some disciples of the Australian teacher Barry Long see Long's influence in Tolle's writings as well. Tolle attended Long's seminars in London in the mid-1980s, some years after his own self-described awakening. Tolle himself mentions briefly in an interview with John Parker [1] that by listening to and having some conversation with Long, he understood things more deeply. In the same interview Tolle also mentions the influence of the Western-born Buddhist monk, Achan Sumedo, and also speaks passionately of his appreciation of the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi. He sees his own teaching as enabling the respective messages of the two latter to merge as one."

You cannot hide from Krishnamurti GOP. His teachings, like that of the Bay ARea, are going to flow over the world like a great God-like volcano. Peace. Happiness. one-ness.

The time for change is now. YOur children and grandchildren are not as lost as their fathers/grandfathers. You don't have much longer. Rather than fearing change you should embrace it. To not grow is to be dead already

proud:
"Cassandra - It goes farther than that when the LGBT spokesperson says "No longer is having a corporate nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation enough."

This is a private organization that I know I'd never heard of (I'm transgendered). They are entitled to their views, regardless of whether those views match those of the larger LGBT community. The same applies to, for instance, the US Chamber of Commerce, which represents the views of its members rather than those of the US population as a whole.

Most GLBT people would, I suspect, prefer to just be left to live in peace, preferably with actual rights. I doubt they expect anything great from any of the politicians, regardless of what they promise. Anyway, most gains in terms of protection from discrimination will be made at the state level and with individual companies (I think).

Speaking for myself, I would just like to see less bigotry, fear-mongering and hatred toward this community from the "religious right" wing of the GOP. You'd think we were a horrible invading army out to destroy Mom's apple pie or something. The rise of that group began my exodus from a lifelong affiliation with the GOP, and the assault on our Constitution finished it.

NonP - I see it as the former, rather than the latter. The gay commmunity has read from the playbook of the likes of Sharpton & Jackson, and the RainbowPush Coalition et al with these tactics. I guess it serves Walmart right, since they are no stranger to this coercive business model.

However, I, for one, do not see fit to lump gays, lesbians, bisexuals and people who had a sex-change operation into the same civil rights basket as blacks or women. Is this the dreaded "intolerance" on my part? Liberals would have you think so.

Since no one fells the need to respond I will continue. Is this a lesson by me today or what? I'll oblidge. Like I've been telling you people. Fear doesn't exist.l The one major lesson I learned from my time in the infantry. A RAnger taought me that.

"SOM: Fear seems to lie behind most negative emotions. How can it be released? You speak about a process of disidentification. How does it work?

Tolle: Fear arises through identification with form, whether it be a material possession, a physical body, a social role, a self-image, a thought, or an emotion. It arises through unawareness of the formless inner dimension of consciousness or spirit, which is the essence of who you are. You are trapped in object consciousness, unaware of the dimension of inner space which alone is true freedom.

Every fearful thought is about future, is about something that could or may happen. Most people are familiar with the "mental movies" that cause stress and anxiety and keep you awake at night, while your body lies in a warm and comfortable bed. The moment you recognize a fearful thought for what it is, that is to say futile and self-destructive mind activity, you begin to disidentify from it. Awareness or Presence then takes over from thinking. I am not saying that you don't think anymore, just that you no longer confuse it with who you are. Thinking becomes rooted in awareness rather than being autonomous and self-serving, which is the ego.

Every pain-body contains a great deal of fear, since fear is the primordial negative emotion. How do we deal with that? Here again, you recognize it for what it is: the pain-body, an accumulation of old emotion. Once you recognize it, it cannot take over your mind, feed on your negative thoughts, and control your internal dialogue as well as what you say and do. Once the pain-body has come up, don't fight or resist it. It is part of the "isness" of the present moment with which you always need to be in inner alignment. So you allow it to be there. If you don't feed it anymore, it loses its energy charge and the negative emotion undergoes transmutation. "

proudtobeGOP -- WalMart makes market-based decisions. They have to decide whether or not the Gays and Lesbians are a significant enough part of their customer base for them to change their policy.

I don't think that anybody would accuse WalMart of being liberal; even if a current Democratic candidate for President was on their Board at one time.

If the policy is changed and you don't like it, blame WalMart. They have the option to not change. The Gays and Lesbians can only pressure them to do so, WalMart or any other business makes the ultimate decision.

You can look at it as economic blackmail, or you can look at it as just market leverage being used.

"But to be in the consciousness of the now moment and to practice awareness of the divine Presence is what Jesus means in his Sermon on the Mount when he says, "Take no thought for your life." From this state of Being comes great creativity"

WOW proud. "Take no thought for your life."

That's a far cry from the "religous" right teachings of " GOd wants you to be wealthy". Isn't it?

Do not let your ego control you. The ego doesn't exist. It is a mental construct. Read the posts. let the words roll around in that brain of yours. Analize conclude and then and only then respond. To parrot dittohead fears is a joke. Be your own man, or woman. Live in the moment. That is the meaning of life. That we all die one day, is the meaning of life. Enjoy today, enjoy this very second. Fear pain hate intolerance DO NOT EXIST. You make them real with your words. What are words? A way of expressing that whcih comes from whithin. Words mean nothing. Our bond as humans runs much deeper than the words or languages that divide us. The future is now. If you do not embrace change you are a slave to the past. The rules have changed.

Release that which holds you back proud/ and the gop. Join us. Join the rest of humanity. Stop the fascsit sell-out capitalist cahrade. The only power money and words have is the power we give them. Fox rush hannity oreilly's only power is the power they have through the enactment of their words BY YOU.

Be your own person. Help bring down your avatars. Only gop'ers can do it. Libs/democrats can't right your ship. You have to take responsibility for that yourselves. Stop the blame game. HElp get fox off the air

Tolle: Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of control. It believes it is real and tries hard to maintain its supremacy. Negative states of mind, such as anger, resentment, fear, envy, and jealousy, are products of the ego. When the ego is in control, these states of mind appear to us to be justified and also to be caused by some external factor. Usually another person is blamed for these feelings. Their true cause, however, is not to be found in the content of your life, but in the very structure of the egoic mind. It needs enemies because it defines its identity through separation, and so it emphasizes the other-ness of others. For this reason, letting the ego be in control leads ultimately to violence, fighting, and war. This is madness, but the ego doesn't see it that way. "

This is OUR collective problem Proud. Ignore the source. Whether it be me or this man. What you should read are the words. Release your ego. Release the ditthead prism. The only strenth both of these have is in your mind. They don't really exist. The only power your avatars have is the power you give them. Live in the now. Don't live in the 60's. Don't live in the future, or worry about "what if's". the future is now. Don't fear the terrosits. Fear losing OUR rights in thsi country. Fear fascsism by americans. The gop has done far more damage than the terrorists ever could do. Live in the now. Release your fear. It doesn't exist.

"Tolle: That's right, because in space consciousness there is no future and no past. There is only the present, and it is always free. This is what the Buddhists call "emptiness" and Jesus calls "the fullness of life." It is the same thing, or rather no-thing. Because it is an opening into the vertical dimension, which has no limit, the present is never confining or fraught with problems. Problems need time, that is to say past and future, to survive. On the other hand, if we let our focus drift back to the past or forward to the future, we are functioning in the horizontal dimension, and this results in an expanded differentiation of forms deriving from ego constructs. Entering the vertical dimension requires a high degree of Presence. The Now needs to be the main focus of our attention. Of course, we need the concept of time in order to function, for example, to schedule this interview. But the point is not to be limited to that dimension alone. The arising of space consciousness--a shift to vertical rather than horizontal awareness--is the next stage in the evolution of humanity, and it's happening more and more as our awareness remains in the now moment. "

"Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome. Since the present moment is Life itself, it is an insane way to live.

In awakened doing there is complete internal alignment with the present moment and whatever you are doing right now. The doing is then not primarily a means to an end, but an opening for consciousness to come into this world. Aligning yourself with the Now is aligning yourself with universal purpose, the purpose of the whole. What is the purpose of the whole? The birth and flowering of consciousness. The whole then guides you in whatever you think or do.

As I explain in A New Earth, awakened doing has three modalities, depending on circumstances and the nature of the activity. They are acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. If there is neither acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm in what you do, you are out of alignment with universal purpose. You are creating unhappiness, that is to say suffering in one form or another. One way of defining the ego is simply this: a dysfunctional relationship with the present moment. What I refer to as the "new earth"--the outer forms created by awakened doing--arises as more people realize that their purpose is to allow consciousness to emerge through whatever they do.

I see signs that it is already happening. For the first time there is a large scale awakening on our planet. Why now? Because if there is no change in human consciousness now, we will destroy ourselves and perhaps the planet. The insanity of the collective egoic mind, amplified by science and technology, is rapidly taking our species to the brink of disaster. Evolve or die: that is our only choice now. Without considering the Eastern world, my estimate is that at this time about ten percent of people in North America are already awakening. That makes thirty million Americans alone, and in addition to those people in other North American countries, about ten percent of the population of Western European countries are also awakening. This is probably enough of a critical mass to bring about a new earth. So the transformation of consciousness is truly happening even though they won't be reporting it on tonight's news. Is it happening fast enough? I am hopeful about humanity's future, much more so now than when I wrote The Power of Now. In fact that is why I wrote that book. I really wasn't sure that humanity was going to survive. Now I feel differently. I see many reasons to be hopeful. "

"They have a legitimate right to be treated as humans and equals and citizens by politicians and corporations."

Cassandra - It goes farther than that when the LGBT spokesperson says "No longer is having a corporate nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation enough."

The agenda they have calls for special rights, not just equal rights. The Dems all pander to this crowd because they want the votes, but theses cowardly politicians won't fulfill any of their empty promises this time any more than they did the last election.

" That's capitalism and the magic of the markets that you gopers are so fond of."

Capitalism, free speech and free market only work for gope'rs not against :).

Anythin gon the other side MSUT be silenced and or called out so the dittoheads can boycott or scared them. The street only runs one way in these people's twisted world perspective. They want it all GOP all the time, no room for compromise or hearing the other side. GOP or nothing. And if they don't win, what do they do. Cheat, lie spin, discredit. Shut down the governemnt or take your ball and go home. Party over country.

It's ok. In a year they will be irrelevant again. For a generation. And we can grow as a nation without the gop stunting us with their divide and conquer games.

'Romney also criticized Clinton, the Democratic senator from New York, on her plans for government-funded universal health care for the 45 million people without health insurance.

Instead, he supports private market-based health insurance, he said, without a government takeover based on individual responsibility.

Romney said he also would eliminate taxes for those in the middle income bracket to allow for saving money.'

'Without a government takeover based on individual responsibility'

Romney will be just like Bush. Just as dumb, just as beholden to corporations, just as much a liar and mouther of meaningless cliches.

Yeah great idea about eliminating taxes for the middle income bracket -- but not the poor? And of course he wants to lower taxes for the rich too -- and we have a huge deficit and a continuing trillion dollar war to support.

I'd sure like to have whatever it is these people smoke. They are getting further and further from any sort of objective reality.

Are there supporters REALLY stupid enough to believe this stuff? How scary is that?

No one's forcing WalMart to do anything. They are one of the most powerful companies in the country -- they are the primary reason we are flooded with dangerous Chinese goods. The Walton family also had a tax break written just for them.

If they are doing something for LGBT community, it's because they will be making a profit on it. That's capitalism and the magic of the markets that you gopers are so fond of.

It is estimated that at least 10% of the population is gay. They have a legitimate right to be treated as humans and equals and citizens by politicians and corporations.

Rudy Giuliani drew outrage and indignation from Sept. 11 first-responders yesterday by saying he spent as much time - or more - exposed to the site's dangers as workers who dug through the debris for the missing and the dead.

Speaking to reporters at a Cincinnati Reds ballgame he caught between fund-raisers, the GOP front-runner said he helped 9/11 families and defended himself against critics of how he managed the attack's aftermath.

"This is not a mayor or a governor or a President who's sitting in an ivory tower," Giuliani said. "I was at Ground Zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them."
His statement rang false to Queens paramedic Marvin Bethea, who said he suffered a stroke, posttraumatic stress disorder and breathing problems after responding to the attacks.
"I personally find that very, very insulting," he said.
"Standing there doing a photo-op and telling the men, 'You're doing a good job,' I don't consider that to be working," said Bethea, 47.

Ironworker Jonathan Sferazo, 52, who said he spent a month at the site and is now disabled, runs a worker advocacy group with Bethea and called Giuliani's comments "severely" out of line.

"He's not one of us. He never has been and he never will be. He never served in a capacity where he was a responder," Sferazo said.

'The GOP shakedown... straw poll... is tomorrow. Looks like Romney has it pretty well rigged in his favor, it is even rumored he is tying some supporters to the roof of their cars to save on bus space.'

And the rigging... thanks for the wonderful mental picture, Truth--it'd make a great cartoon.

Talk about a shakedown; here's one example of why the Dems all pander to the LGBTs, aka "embrace" the gay agenda...

In August, 2006 the "National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce," NGLCC, announced it was partnering with Wal-Mart.

Bob McAdam, vice president of corporate affairs with Wal-Mart, told Cybercast News
Service that the world's largest retail company joined the NGLCC "just like we joined a number of other groups representing all parts of the spectrum of our customers."

In an unprecedented push, Wal-Mart Stores has hired a gay-marketing shop, joined the
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and begun discussions with activist groups about extending domestic-partnership benefits to its employees.

"The expectation is that Wal-Mart will encourage their core suppliers - the P&G's, the Johnson & Johnson's and the Gillette's - to also diversify their revenue streams to include LGBT businesses." says Justin Nelson, NGLCC president, Advertising Age, August
24, 2006.

"As a part of the agreement, Wal-Mart will pay $25,000 to NGLCC and has agreed to
sponsor two of NGLCC's annual conferences."

"No longer is just marketing to the LGBT segment enough. No longer is having a
corporate nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation enough. If a company is truly committed to being a good corporate citizen in the LGBT space as they are with other diverse communities, then they need to buy back and invest in LGBT-community owned businesses. " NGLCC release

"Musharraf may declare "state of emergency" in Pakistan
Reported by Chrish - Wed 10:45 PMYesterday 8/7/07 on the O'Reilly Factor, irresponsible "journalist" Bill O'Reilly said to a world-wide audience "We won't need that (surveillance program) after we invade Pakistan and kill all the Al Qaeda - we won't need any of this surveillance." Today Matthew Pennington reports

"The government of embattled Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Thursday it may impose a state of emergency because of "external and internal threats" and deteriorating law and order in the volatile northwest near the Afghan border.

Tariq Azim, minister of state for information, said some sentiment coming from the United States, including from Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama, over the possibility of U.S. military action against al-Qaida in Pakistan "has started alarm bells ringing and has upset the Pakistani public."

"O'Reilly calls nine-year military vet "anti-military"
Reported by Chrish - Thu 1:25 AMGeoffrey Millard, nine-year veteran and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, was a guest on The O'Reilly Factor tonight 8/8/07 to discuss a recent column by Joe Copeland in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The column was about the decision in Seattle, by the Parent Teacher Student Association and the Board of Education, to limit military recruiters' access to students on high school campuses. To his credit, O'Reilly did not, on television at least, call for an Al Qaeda attack on Seattle."

Truth Hunter writes
"The GOP shakedown... is tomorrow. Looks like Romney has it pretty well rigged in his favor, it is even rumored he is tying some supporters to the roof of their cars to save on bus space."

That's a false economy. You can fit far more people on the roof of a bus than the roof of a car.

"O'Reilly is just a bigoted mean-spirited corporate shill who is just as useless as "Daily Kos.""

Right. And they have MILLIONS of dittheads who will parrot everything they say, daily.

Sorry for the assult Sandy. You say the wrong words at the wrong time. You want to do something about propoganda in this country? Start at the top. Start with getting Fox off the air. We can grow togher and move on from their. But theKoz is no tthe problem. The koz IS A REACTION TO THE PROBLEM. The dittheads run this country. What does the koz run? If the right doesn't stop what they are doing the koz and their ideolgue WILL run this country. It is natural. It is the Yin and Yang. Don't balme the koz thoguh. Without Bush fox and the right wing fascsits there would be no need for the koz. They are a reactionary unit. Good for them. Someone needs to fight back the fascsits for destroying this country. They are like me but on a far grander scale. I can't ahte them for that :). They should have no voice when the right-wing fascsit have no voice. Do you see that happening anything soon? Remove savage and rush another one will pop up. Like weeds. Like greedy capitalist weeds destroyign the country. Don't blame koz. They are reacting to the people destroying our country for porfit. Go for those people. Go for the greedy fascsit sell-outs that are selling the country out to outside influences like china and saudi arabia.

Just a point about the polls you cite, Chris. The WA state poll showing Rossi within 4 points of Gregoire is clearly (like all partisan polls) rigged - by the questions they ask, the sample they use, and/or the order of names to encourage Mr. Rossi to enter the race and make his numbers look better. I'm assuming 5 to 10 pts to Rossi's advantage making the numbers by an independent pollster more likely to be 52-40 or so - still within striking distance but a solid position for Gregoire.

The SUSA pollk you cite in the KY note is an independent poll and their numbers prior to the primaries in kentucky were spot-on. I'm not accusing you of being unfair necessarily, but it seems that you're taking the Republican poll numbers as the gospel truth in WA and questioning the independent poll's legitimacy in KY.

Maybe that's the right thing to do, but I'd appreciate if you'd share your logic.

The Democrat clowns were on parade last night at the LGBT forum. Senator Obama distinguished himself by repeating ""Oh, come on, now," ... "I mean, look, guys, you know, I mean, gays LIKE me, they really, really like me. "

Bill Richardson drew hisses from the crowd for announcing that America is "not ready for gay marriage." Apparently, honesty is not what the audience is looking for in their chosen candidate.

Anybody who plays by the rules does not "rig" the game, the straw vote, whatever.

If Romney gets more votes because his campaign simply spent more money to buy more votes, which seems to be the name of the Ames game, then you can legitimately say that he "bought" it. Which all of the other candidates could have legitimately done also.

"Nope - I hate Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, too. In fact, "Daily Kos" just empowers their idiotic programming, which is why I find "Daily Kos" to be retarded. "Daily Kos" are leftist fascists and Bill O'Reilly is a right-wing wacko fascist, and Sean Hannity is just mindless drivel directed at ignorant people so that he can sell books and tapes and make a profit off of people who are stupid enough to buy his garbage."

Well your right about one thing. :) Bill O'Reilly and Hannity are fascsits. As to the Koz. Sometimes in order to defeat the devil you have to become him. As long as your heart is in the right place you cannot be touched. As long as your on God's side God will smile upon you. Sometimes "when you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back."

Get Fox and Rush off the air. Get the right-wing attack dogs off the air and the left wing attack dogs will tone it down. he right has not backed down over the last year(after the salacking of the 06 elections), they have upped the ante. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Bill O'REilly attacking others for lies orpropoganda is a joke. He is the biggest propogandist on the planet, next to his boss. Hannity is a right-wing robot like malkin. Look in their eye's. Tell me they're not made out of wood. Tell me hannity and maklin/coulter and not robots and believe what they say.

Fox has lead to the level of poloitical conversation oin this country. They have drug it to it's current level. Elementary school kids, " I know you are but waht am I". You want the koz to lose power? Help get O'rEilly rush hannity/ fox off the air. Once that happens WE can start to rebuild this great nation with REAL political conversation. How do we do that you ask? Research who supports fox and give them advertising dollars. Email or call said business and tell then you wil boycot and or picket them unless they stop supporting lies propogandist fascsits. That is the only way to get them. They are making to much money from oil. They will never step down willingly. They CAN'T do what's best for the country. Gop'ers can only think about themselves and their money.

Where did i ever say silence "Daily Kos?" Just because I think they are retarded and useless doesn't mean I think they should be silenced. They have a constitutional right to spew their insults and fiction, and I would sincerely defend that to the death.

O'Reilly is just a bigoted mean-spirited corporate shill who is just as useless as "Daily Kos."

Sandy -- We have a good read on everyone that you hate. Do actually SUPPORT anything, or is your life primarily focused on telling everyone - in blanket terms, without support -- who and what you disagree with? Just curious.

Oh, and one final point: many of the "fringe left" (which I gather means anyone to the left of you) that you seem to hate were 100% correct regarding the wisdom of going into Iraq and the danger of a GWB presidency. Turns out neither of those particular dangers were "conspiracies," so perhaps you should question your own judgment with a bit more rigor.

Anyone attacking the Kozs is a dittohead. I didn't hear anyone attacking them 2 months ago. Now all of a sudden it's Koz koz koz. I wonder why. You people live your lives through avatars. Bill/Hannity/Rush tell you what to be mad at and what to do about it and you jump. Think for yourselves.

O'REilly has the most ratings in the country. And he's worried about the "propoganda" on ONE website. What about the lies and propoganda he has put out for ten years? Would we be in iraq if it wasn't for O'Reilly/hannity/rush/Fox? I don't think so.

You want to point the finger. Point it at fox and O'REilly. Koz and mediamatters are one of the only places that o'reily has taken up agaisnt and ARE STILL ON THE AIR. Rosie and everyone else either backs down or is removed. I respect the koz for what they do. Persoanlly it is preaching to the convertated, so I don't go their. It's not liberals who are destroying this country and holding up progress. I'd rather go staright to the source. But silence them becasue you disagree? What would stop me from getting o'reilly and fox off the air, because I disagree with them?

OTTAWA, Aug. 9 -- Canadian intelligence officials anticipated that the United States would ship Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian who was detained in New York in 2002 on suspicion of terrorism, to a third country to be tortured, declassified information released on Thursday shows.

Mr. Arar was sent by American intelligence officials in October 2002 to Syria, where he was tortured and jailed for a almost a year. Last September, an extensive Canadian inquiry concluded that the terrorism accusations against him were groundless.

Portions of the inquiry's report were originally removed for security and diplomatic reasons. But a court ruled last month that much of the editing was not justified.

The newly released sections indicate that neither the Syrian government nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation were convinced that Mr. Arar was a security threat.

- no such thing as a leftwing fascist, sandy. words have meanngs. try to learn them before you use them"

%100 CORRECT. fRICKING REPUBLICANS. Who believes these people anymore? You can call us socialist if you want. I like that. You can call me a poo poo head, even. ANy attack is fine with me. Just know what your talking about before you make claims like "the koz's are fascists" out of the blue. And I don't even go to koz, but I respect what they do.

So there are no left-wing dictators or tyrants? You're wrong and ignorant. Just because you found some dictionary that says "right-wing" doesn't make that or you the authority on definitions. Maybe you got that from "Daily Kos" conspiracy theory fiction book.

What about Castro? Great example of a left-wing fascist. Of course, you probably love him and think he is better than Bush.

Good morning, and thank you all for coming on such short notice... Camera Three, a little more from the profile, please. No, too much grey... OK, we've got an availability coming up at the Great Cuts in Iowa City at 2:00, but we have time for a few questions before getting in the Morm- ah, the MittMobile. Yes, from CBS... Yes, well, the polls are encouraging, but it's hard to attribute Mitt's success to any one factor. It could be his exper- ah, it could be a lot of things... Yes, well, no, I didn't, I WAS going to say "experience"... Yes, one term as Massachusetts governor. What? Yes, with a Democratic Legislature. Yes, veto-proof, but still... The Republican Governors' Association, yes... On the road for most of 2006, yes... what? OF COURSE he was still running the state. He loves Massachusetts! And... yes, I'm aware of what he said about Massachusetts when speaking to red-state audiences, but... With love! He kids Massachusetts... Not laughing? Well, the state - and I say this with love! - the state needs to be able to laugh at itself a little... not funny?!? OK, next question... Yes, 'Seamus' was his name. He was a good dog! What... well, I'm glad you brought that up. No, really... It turns out that a sixty-mile-per-hour rush of wind is GOOD for a dog's fur, and as a talking head of hair, I can personally attest that... No, don't be silly! Fur can't speak. Every once in a while, I would say to Seamus' fur "Good fur, good fur"... You know what, I'm an intelligent head of hair, and I think Mitt and I will have to move on now if you don't have anything more substantial. Well, one last question. On the side, from CNN... His sons? Well, this is a free country, and they did not choose military service... yes, Mitt sees it as an honorable profession. His sons just do not choose the rigors of that life, and I can add, after speaking with each of their heads of hair, that the "buzz" cut is not one that they would enjoy... NO! No more time. We'll see you, and your hair, this afternoon at Great Cuts.

Though Walter Boasso is polling at 20%, once Foster Campbell starts bringing up Boasso's party switch and conservative voting record in the Legislature, Boasso's numbers will fall. One thing polls always miss is that the Demcoratic organization (trial lawyers, unions, "courthouse gang", those dependent on state government) gets in gear right before Election Day to turn out their vote. And even though the NO vote will be cut in half, the Democratic organization is not to be taken lightly.

The Progressive: Is there a split between "new Democrats" and progressives, or what Paul Wellstone used to call "the Democratic wing of the Democratic party?"

Elizabeth Edwards: John gave a speech at the DNC meeting saying we don't need to reinvent our party; we just need to remember who we are. And who we are is the party of working people, including people who want to work and can't, [and] people who have worked and are trying to retire. That's who we are and have always been. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.

Posted by: the party of working people -- | August 10, 2007 11:28 AM | Report abuse

Nope - I hate Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, too. In fact, "Daily Kos" just empowers their idiotic programming, which is why I find "Daily Kos" to be retarded. "Daily Kos" are leftist fascists and Bill O'Reilly is a right-wing wacko fascist, and Sean Hannity is just mindless drivel directed at ignorant people so that he can sell books and tapes and make a profit off of people who are stupid enough to buy his garbage.

Ok sandy. Repeat what your avatar Bill O'REilly tells you. Taht is your right. But who stared this war agaisnt america? Fox and Rush have lead to the destruction of the media and in turn political conversation in this country. And you blame a website. You know nothing. Fascists. Is the Koz trying to silence any and everybody they disagree with a la o'reilly hannity rush?

3. Develop a thug caste (dittoheads, cow folk, Fake chrsitians that make up the "religous" right)

4. Set up an internal surveillance system( patriot act, o'reilly and the mob silencing all non-gop voices)

5. Harass citizens' groups( the next couple go without sauing. Any non-gops voices are targeted.)

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release

7. Target key individuals

8. Control the press( all tv news, radio)

9. Dissent equals treason( "your with us or against us")

10. Suspend the rule of law( I don't recall, executive privledge.)

But I'm the fascsit, right sandy? You people have destroyed this great country. I have fought you all the way. You people have done more damage than the terrorists ever could hope to. And I'm the bad guy? Know what your talking about befor eyou type sandy. Otherwise you look like a bafoon.

At key moments in his church life, Giuliani's close friend, Monsignor Alan Placa, has been at his side. Placa was best man at Giuliani's first wedding, officiated at the second and baptized Giuliani's son and daughter.

Placa was barred from the ministry after he was accused of child abuse, but he received special permission to preside at the funeral of Giuilani's mother, Helen, in 2002. Placa has been working for his friend's consulting business, Giuliani Partners, despite the urging of abuse victims that he be terminated.

You cannot supress the news, here. YOu may be able to do it on tv, but not here. We are free on the internet. You cannot hide your heads in the sand here. YOu want that go to rush.com of fox.com. We're talking about what is here. If you don't like it, go to a republcian propoganda site. That's what you do gop right? Hide from reality. Watch your "news' shows talking about anna nicole and lindsey lohan all day. You can do that in your worlds. You cannot do it here. Why would you want to hide. Who will save this country from the destruction the gop has done the last 15 years? If nobody knows what's going on. You cannot hide in your cave foever. Your children are taking over now.

No one will listen to you zouk you fascist. Enough of telling others what to say or who to ignore. They ignore you. You thought police fascsits had your chance. YOu children and grad-children are now taking over. You people have had your time. You used it un-wisely. Now move out of the way and let US fix the damage you have done to this great nation. I was a Army Infantry soldier 11B. What have you ever done? Fascist

Chris, Chris, Chris... you're missing the point. 33 to 8 is a substantial lead, no matter how much money you have. The poll was taken statewide, so the fact that she ran for Congress in her area (northern Indiana) is somewhat irrelevant. More people have heard of Richard Young and he's from Southern Indiana (granted, he's in the Senate, but his work there is negligible). Schellinger has been all over the state and his name ID is still this low? People are very region-oriented here.

Did I mention that the soft persuasion paragraphs on everyone's resume solidified her lead? People want a choice and someone with significant public service experience... and that's not Schellinger. I'm not sure Hoosiers are ready to trust another "businessman" in the Governor's chair.

It is still early, and my alternate personality has yet to assume control for the day. As most of you are aware, this occurs between 11:00 and 2:00, when my shift supervisor goes home and my alternate personality is able to monopolize the company machines with his offensive idiocy.

I join the Zookeepress, Blarg, and others in asking that you pay me/him no attention. My/his sole purpose is to distract those of you who are serious about the topics being discussed from conversation, the better to discourage any meaningful exchanges with regard to what is going wrong with America. In my better hourse, I see it too!

However, I am cursed with a powerful alternate personality, whose mission it seems to be to so debase the political discourse as to convince everyone to accept the realignment of our society strictly along economic lines.

'U.S. military intelligence officials are urgently assessing how secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons would be if President Musharraf were replaced as the nation's leader, CNN has learned. Key questions in the assessment include who would control Pakistan's nuclear weapons after a shift in power. '

jeezus... you mean they don't know this? this administration's incompetence is going to kill us all.

"Q Thank you, Mr. President. You speak often about taking care of the troops and honoring their sacrifice. But the family of Corporal Pat Tillman believes there was a cover up regarding his death, and some say perhaps he was even murdered, instead of just friendly fire. At a hearing last week on Capitol Hill your former Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, other officials used some version of "I don't recall" 82 times. When it was his term to step up, Pat Tillman gave up a lucrative NFL career, served his country and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Now you have a chance to pledge to the family that your government, your administration will finally get to the bottom of it. Can you make that pledge to the family today, that you'll finally, after seven investigations, find out what really happened?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I can understand why Pat Tillman's family, you know, has got significant emotions, because a man they loved and respected was killed while he was serving his country. I always admired the fact that a person who was relatively comfortable in life would be willing to take off one uniform and put on another to defend America. And the best way to honor that commitment of his is to find out the truth. And I'm confident the Defense Department wants to find out the truth, too, and we'll lay it out for the Tillman family to know.

Q But, Mr. President, there have been seven investigations and the Pentagon has not gotten to the bottom of it. Can you also tell us when you, personally, found out that it was not enemy fire, that it was friendly fire?

THE PRESIDENT: I can't give you the precise moment. But obviously the minute I heard that the facts that people believed were true were not true, that I expect there to be a full investigation and get to the bottom of it."

My hometown newspaper and TV stations cover the Ashland area very well, since we are one of the tri-state cities. Fletcher has had problems with crime allegedly committed by members of his Administration. I see Ky. as a dem pickup. La. bears watching because they also have a Senate seat up next year and presently held by dems, these appear, on paper at least, as a pickup for repubs, but I am one of a few that think the dems will hold both.

"Daily Kos" is retarded. They are constantly spewing ridiculous conspiracy theories and self-congratulatory garbage about how they supposedly influence elections.

Well, last time I checked, Lieberman got re-elected and came back stronger and more pro-war than ever before. So congratulations on that.

Then they say stupid things like stop the war, we want peace and all that, and then they spew all kinds of insults against Bush and compare him to Hitler, Bush caused the bridge collapse, Bush is the devil, blah, blah, blah.

This is probably why Bush got re-elected, because the lunatic left goes so far over the top with their insults of him that it turns off a lot of normal Americans who would usually consider voting against Bush but have a problem with their president being constantly insulted in a childish fashion.

'The Post fronts word that the Bush administration wants the United Nations to coordinate talks between the United States and Iraq's neighbors. "I think you need regional help to get the Iraqis to come together," Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview.'

How do you like this,rightwingers? US goes on its knees to the UN for help. The big bad UN that you hate so much...but then, who DON"T you hate?

Fred Thompson's "testing the waters" campaign hasn't done itself any favors by being so evasive when it comes to questions about Mrs. Thompson.

Perhaps if the topic weren't so shrouded in mystery, Newsweek magazine wouldn't have created a mini firestorm with its story this week suggesting Jeri Kehn Thompson may have been married before - and possibly never divorced - since her name pops up in public records as Jeri Kehn Alvey, which is the last name of her ex-boyfriend.

"It's unclear exactly when she may have been married or when she may have gotten divorced," the magazine wrote. "When asked directly about it, the campaign would neither confirm nor deny a previous marriage."

If you listened to Bush at his news conference yesterday, you heard a man who's not about to let something as petty as objective reality change his mind -- and who's not going to pay attention to what the Iraqi government or even his own government might say or do.

Reporters asked about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's all-smiles visit with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran. The White House has angrily accused Iran of fostering chaos in Iraq and supplying advanced explosives that are killing U.S. troops. But Maliki was quoted as telling his host that Iran played a "positive and constructive" role in Iraq.

Bush's response: "In his heart of hearts," Maliki didn't really believe what he had said.

Adolf Hitler is often used as an example of what happens to a society when traditional Christian moral and social values are abandoned. In reality, one of the reasons why Hitler was so popular with conservative Christians in Germany was precisely because he promised to restore traditional morality. He opposed abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and just about everything else conservative Christians complained were ruining modern Germany.

YOU AGAIN IGNORE TO POST A STORY ABOUT HILLARY SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING AS OBAMA SAID CONCERNING 'NUKES BEING OFF THE TABLE' AND HYPOTHETICALS.......SHE IS A FLIP FOPPER AND INCONSISTENT. I WAS ONCE FOR HILLARY BUT NOW I AM FOR SOMEONE ELSE. THIS PRO-HILLARY MEDIA NEEDS TO STOP.

The WSJ doesn't mince words and says that what began as concern over subprime mortgages "has mushroomed into a crisis for ... investors world-wide." The NYT plays up the surprise angle, saying the losses in European banks "turned up unexpectedly." Much of the concern has to do with uncertainty and now, as the NYT makes clear in a separate story inside, investors are anxious the next problem could rise up anywhere. "There's little knowledge about who holds the toxic waste and how much they hold," an economist tells the LAT.

If you're scratching your head wondering how this is possible, an article in the NYT's business pages does a good job of explaining how we got here and why central banks may not be up to the task of handling this type of mess. The NYT's Paul Krugman notes that "when liquidity dries up, the normal tools of policy lose much of their effectiveness." The LAT also has a helpful Q&A explaining what a liquidity crisis involves and how it could affect the larger economy.

The WSJ fronts an interesting look at the problems that led to the recent bailout of a German bank, which "shows how quickly global investors' abrupt new appreciation of credit risk can ricochet around the world."

On that same note I don't fear homosexuals, or atheists, or people who don't look like me, or strong women, or foreigners, or immgrants who come to this country looking for a better life, or the idea that workers should be able to unite for their own benefit, or even terrorists, or any of the other hundred things that this administration tells me I should fear.

I saw that too, Anon. Over the last few centuries, journalists and academics have been some of the greatest proponents of democracy. Smearing journalists is a favorite tactic of autocratic regimes; democracies have freedom of the press. And the idea that "social progressives" oppose democracy is insane; moving towards democracy IS social progress.

Of course, this is coming from Mike, who also said that the most important thing in the world is for the Republicans to win in 2008. And that a win for the Democrats is a win for the terrorists. And...you know, I don't think I have time to list all the crap he's said.

'Democracy is feared by many in the world, particularly by despots, villains, academics, journalists, writers, professors, and social progressives. '

This was posted by a so-called conservative. This is how deeply insane they are. Look at it, look at the sick way this mind works. Or doesn't, more accurately. Stunning, isn't it? Writers fear democracy. 'Professors and academics' fear it, he says. You see what Hate Radio has done to your fellow Americans? Completely destroyed their ability to reason.

This is the power of fascism. Over and over in human history, people have been twisted in this manner, their weak minds prey to demagogues who use their fear and weakness for their own gain. But as PT Barnum said, there's a sucker born every minute.

Why, CC, because you don't want to? Perhaps people are tired of this sort of thing. Maybe they are a little tired of criminals being indicted/and or convicted and then -- pardoned. Maybe people beleive that we should all be treated equally under the law -- that it applies to republicans, too! What a concept, hmm?

'In May, Attorney General Greg Stumbo began investigating whether rank-and-file state jobs were being filled based on political affiliations rather than the merit of candidates, as the law requires.

Since then, 14 current and former members of Fletcher's administration have been indicted, most on misdemeanor violations of the Merit System law. In August, Fletcher pardoned the first nine who were indicted and said it covered any criminal activity in the administration that might be investigated by the grand jury.'

Fletcher is gone. Any survey that shows the opponent up 21 points is BAD news for the incumbent. Barring Beshear being found with a live boy or a dead girl he is going to be the next governor of the commonwealth of Kentucky.

I have beleived for a while now that Jindal is going to run into a problem with some of the more racist voters on the extreme right. These are folks who would traditionally vote GOP no matter what. But look for Boasso to use his significant financial edge to put commercials up that show a picture of Jindal and George Bush side-by-side. Also look at a picture of Boasso he looks like he should be governor of Louisiana, he looks like he has eaten a little too much gumbo.